Let's talk about the NFL...again.

[Eulogy]

why?

and what a perfect way for that came to end. brett favre fucking sucks.

[hnibos]

i was rooting so hard for brett favre. i guess i dont care for teams that get sympathy votes from everyone because of a hurricane years ago. its so annoying. Besides that, reggie bush is a pretty boy punk, shockey is a loud mouth idiot, boring no name receivers all around, and a qb that would be average if it werent for his head coach. despite my hate(big time hate) for manning, i will be a colts fan in two sundays.

[hnibos]

despite a majority of the media in love with favre-he-plays-like-a-kid i still saw him as some sort of anti hero and i like that. heres to hoping he comes back. i enjoy watching him play.

[Eulogy]

Originally Posted by hnibos

despite a majority of the media in love with favre-he-plays-like-a-kid i still saw him as some sort of anti hero and i like that. heres to hoping he comes back. i enjoy watching him play.

um, why in the hell would you see him as an anti-hero? if anyone is a pretty boy bitch with a massive sense of entitlement, it's brett fucking favre.

two NFC championship games, 2 essentially game ending interceptions. one of the greatest choke artists of all time.

[Eulogy]

i hate jeremy shockey too but you can't like everyone

[sppunk]

I was for the Saints just to spite Favre, but all my Louisiana and SE Texas friends post WHO DAT so fucking much I am sick of it.

[hnibos]

i wont boil down his career to those two games. anyways, from what i saw this season he has a reason to believe a team should give him time to make decisions. without brett favre the vikings would not have been close to this situation. actually, peterson doesnt fumble and they score on that drive before the half, we probably arent talking about brett "choking" on that play.

[hnibos]

if brett favre is a choke artist so is peyton manning. anyone remember those snow games and manning pouting?

[hnibos]

really i just get sick of all the fluff stories that are bound to come about new orleans and how a fucking football team is somehow giving their life new meaning

[pale blue eyes]

I was hoping it would be a Jets (shut up) and Vikings Super Bowl, mainly because I hate Peyton Manning and I find Sean Payton incredibly annoying. He was a coach for the Eagles but he followed that up by heading to the Giants and then to the Cowboys. The latter of which is unforgivable.

Originally Posted by sppunk

all my Louisiana and SE Texas friends post WHO DAT so fucking much I am sick of it.

YES.

Originally Posted by Eulogy

um, why in the hell would you see him as an anti-hero? if anyone is a pretty boy bitch with a massive sense of entitlement, it's brett fucking favre.

two NFC championship games, 2 essentially game ending interceptions. one of the greatest choke artists of all time.

I understand your Brett Favre hate being a Bears fan and the media (mostly) being in love with him and all, Eugoogily, but the guy did win a Super Bowl. It was a while ago but still.

[AndySlash]

Originally Posted by hnibos

actually, peterson doesnt fumble and they score on that drive before the half, we probably arent talking about brett "choking" on that play.

Peterson definitely needs to put in some work this offseason.

I actually feel alright today. This doesn't sting like '98. People will put a lot of emphasis on Favre's last throw, but in the big picture the two fumbles inside the 10 were far more costly mistakes in my eyes. Either one of those doesn't happen and it's likely the Vikings have at least a 3 point lead at the end of regulation and Favre is just running out the clock instead of forcing a pass to make a play that will set up a fringe distance field goal try.

This was a team loss, and blame simply can't be placed on any one player. Yes, it's depressing that the team outplayed the Saints and lost, but you can't expect to have that many turnovers and win. You just can't. It speaks to the talent on the Vikings team that they were still in it even after all the gaffes, and whether or not Favre is here next season, the foundation is there. They've had two years of playoff experience, and now a heartbreaker of a loss. Sometimes things like this need to happen for a team to grow. I have hope that this is just another building block. If that turns out not to be the case, it was a fun ride.

I respect Favre as a player. If he doesn't play next year, he still left a big mark on the team and helped them grow this year. I think he helped everyone, from Childress on down, recognize the skills and potential the team truly has and, for that, the Favre experiment was a great success.

[Eulogy]

Originally Posted by hnibos

i wont boil down his career to those two games. anyways, from what i saw this season he has a reason to believe a team should give him time to make decisions. without brett favre the vikings would not have been close to this situation. actually, peterson doesnt fumble and they score on that drive before the half, we probably arent talking about brett "choking" on that play.

give this vikings team anyone who isn't tavares jackson, and there's a good chance they make it this far. or you can look at what favre did last year with his 22 interceptions and overall mediocrity.

i defer to sal paolantonio at this point:

We interrupt the continued deification of Brett Favre -- a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the most durable player in NFL history -- with the following reality check.

Yes, Favre played long enough to throw the most touchdown passes and collect the most wins by an NFL quarterback. But let's examine the second half of No. 4's career. The truth is, Favre did little over the past decade to earn the gushing praise heaped upon him by our fawning brethren in the media.




After beating the San Francisco 49ers in the 1997 NFC Championship Game, Favre won just three of his last 10 playoff games. Eli Manning had more postseason wins in a 29-day span this past season than Favre had in his last decade with the Green Bay Packers.

Yes, Favre won a Super Bowl -- 11 years ago! But as his career arc spiraled downward, the blind adulation only got worse.

Favre's passer rating in his last 12 postseason games was a pedestrian 77.8. In his last five wild-card games, he went 2-3 with more interceptions (nine) than touchdown passes (seven). In his last three divisional playoff games, he went 1-2 with seven TDs and seven interceptions. That's a 3-5 record with 14 touchdown passes and 16 picks.

In two of his last four postseason appearances, Favre threw two of the most unthinkable playoff interceptions in NFL history, both in overtime -- to Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003 and to Corey Webster of the New York Giants in January. In fact, Favre is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw overtime interceptions in two playoff games. In his last nine playoff games, Favre threw 18 interceptions.

Brett Favre's career playoff record was 12-10. Fellow Packer star quarterback Bart Starr, above, was 9-1.
In the first 81 years of the Green Bay franchise, the most hallowed in all of pro football, the Packers were 13-0 at home in the postseason. But since 2002, the Packers have gone 2-3 in playoff games at Lambeau Field, with Favre losing to three not-quite Hall of Fame quarterbacks: Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper and Manning.

If Manning had a decade like that, he'd be run out of New York. If Philip Rivers kept chucking ridiculous overtime interceptions in the postseason, he would be branded a first-round bust. If Drew Brees came up short in three out of five home playoff games, he'd be mocked.

But no matter how many dumb passes he threw and how many playoff games he lost, Favre remains immune to criticism.

Favre isn't even the greatest quarterback in the history of the Packers. It's not even close. Bart Starr won five NFL championships -- four more than Favre -- and retired as the NFL's most accurate passer.

Oh, you say Starr was surrounded by a Hall of Fame roster with a legendary coach. But Starr still is the NFL record holder with a 104.8 career playoff passer rating, nearly 20 points higher than Favre's. That wasn't Vince Lombardi or Ray Nitschke throwing those passes for Starr, whose career postseason passer rating, by the way, is 38 points higher than Johnny Unitas'.

Favre's career playoff record was 12-10. Starr's was 9-1 -- without the benefit of wild-card games. Favre threw 28 interceptions in 22 playoff games. Starr threw three in 10. Think about that -- just three picks in 213 postseason attempts.

But Bart Starr gets the Ringo Starr treatment -- underappreciated and overlooked. Favre gets put on a pedestal. Yes, he had a Pro Bowl season in 2007 with the youngest roster in the NFL. But his final moment on Lambeau Field was a wildly errant pass that turned into the NFC title for the Giants.

Indeed, a decade after his last moments of glory, the football hype machine continues to paint Favre as a hallowed icon of Americana, a symbol of all that is right with sports, a Wild West gun-slinging good ol' boy. There's Brett on the farm! There's Brett with his family! There's Brett on the cover of Sports Illustrated! There's Brett throwing another overtime interception!

Favre was among the best in the game, once upon a time. Those days are long gone. Only the idolatry remains.

He had good years in 2007 and 2009, but in each year, he single-handedly threw his team out of the playoffs (ok, he had some help this time, but still, the Vikings defense gave him an opportunity to prance in open field for 10 yards and set up a field goal. instead GUNSLINGER took over and threw one of the most ill-advised passes I've ever seen thrown at any level.)

[Dogfighter28]

It was the 12 men in the huddle penalty that fucked the Vikes over. Favre has no excuse, though - he had 5-10 yards easy if he ran the ball.

The 3 plays that were reviewed in overtime were all very favorable towards New Orleans. The ball was clearly dislodged on the fourth-and-one and did not cross the line. Also, the last catch that reviewed looked like it was bobbled and hit the ground to me.

[Eulogy]

Originally Posted by Dogfighter28

It was the 12 men in the huddle penalty that fucked the Vikes over. Favre has no excuse, though - he had 5-10 yards easy if he ran the ball.

The 3 plays that were reviewed in overtime were all very favorable towards New Orleans. The ball was clearly dislodged on the fourth-and-one and did not cross the line. Also, the last catch that reviewed looked like it was bobbled and hit the ground to me.

The ball was moved, but possession was never lost. Unlike the Vikings, the Saints have players that can actually hold onto the ball when it is hit. And of course he crossed the line. He may have been pushed back behind it, but the rule is to mark the ball where forward progress ended.

I thought the reviews were all called correctly. I was just annoyed that 3 out of 8 plays had to be reviewed.

[sppunk]

By the way what the fuck happened to Peterson? In nine games he went from great to completely fucking worthless.

[hnibos]

or healthy to completely fucking sore

[Trotskilicious]

Originally Posted by hnibos

i was rooting so hard for brett favre.

gross

[Tchocky]

Screw the Colts.

[Nimrod's Son]

Originally Posted by Nimrod's Son

In other news... playoff predictions:

Jets over Cincy
Baltimore over NE
Dallas over Philly
AZ over GB

Indy over BAL
Jets over SD (not a popular pick out here but I really want the bandwagon Bolts fans to shut up)
Min over Dallas
NO over AZ

Championships:
NO over MIN
Indy over Jets

Superbowl:
NO over Indy

standing by it

[Tchocky]

Good picks, Nimrod, but IMO Indy wins the big one.

They've got more playoff experience, and they seem like a well-oiled machine right now, as opposed to the Saints, whose offense has been hit or miss the past month or so. Not to mention the Colts have already beaten the two best defenses in these playoffs (handily, I might add), and the Saints beat Minny only by the skin of their teeth (while being sorely out-gained on offense) despite all the times the Vikings put the rock on the turf. The Saints will have to outscore the Colts, and I don't see that happening.

Indy 41, N'Orleans 27.